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AFP
Hong Kong
Hong Kong on Monday banned a political party which promotes independence, calling it a threat to national security, as Beijing clamps down on challenges to its sovereignty.
It was the first ban on a political party since the city was handed back to China by Britain 21 years ago. The foreign ministry in London expressed concern at the move.
Semi-autonomous Hong Kong enjoys freedoms unseen on the mainland, including freedom of expression. But the space for dissent is shrinking in the face of an increasingly assertive China under President Xi Jinping.
Hong Kong's security minister John Lee said he had upheld a police request to ban the Hong Kong National Party"in the interest of national security, public safety, public order, and the protection of rights and freedom of others".
HKNP is a well-known but tiny group with a core membership of only around a dozen.
Lee told reporters the party"has a very clear agenda to achieve its goal of Hong Kong being made an independent republic", saying that contravened the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law.
